Glossary
When a workplace includes workers who belong to a union, a collective agreement sets out conditions of employment, such as wages, hours of work, and overtime pay. The collective agreement includes the process that workers need to use if the employer does not follow the agreement.
Collective bargaining is the process that unionized workers and employers go through to set the conditions of employment, such as wages, hours of work, and overtime pay.
Constructive dismissal happens when your employer makes a fundamental change to your work situation and you do not agree or accept it. Because of this, your work or your conditions at work change so much that it’s like you’ve been fired.
You commit a crime when you break a federal law. Federal laws apply in all Canadian provinces and territories. The main federal law is the Criminal Code. Things like theft and assault are crimes in the Criminal Code.
In Employment and Work, Housing Law, Human Rights
In Ontario’s human rights laws, the term disability includes many conditions. For example, a disability can be a physical condition, a mental condition, a learning disability, a developmental disability, or a mental illness. Disability also includes being addicted to or dependent on drugs or alcohol.
You could be born with a disability. Or, you could have a disability because you were sick or injured.
In Employment and Work, Housing Law, Human Rights, Income Assistance, Tribunals and Courts
The law says that you cannot be discriminated against:
- in employment and housing
- when you buy or receive items and services
- when you make a contract
- by your union or professional association
Discrimination happens when you’re treated unfairly because of protected grounds, also called personal characteristics. Ontario’s Human Rights Code lists 17 protected grounds that include ethnic origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, family status, and disability.
The Employment Standards Act (ESA) provides the minimum standards for most employees working in Ontario. The ESA sets out the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers in most Ontario workplaces.
In Employment and Work, Discrimination at work
Family status refers to a relationship that’s like that between a parent and a child. It can include similar relationships where you take care of and are responsible for someone and are committed to doing that.
Here are some examples:
- a foster parent caring for a foster child
- a brother caring for a sister with a disability
- an aunt raising her niece
To file something means giving it to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and following the rules about how to do this.